1983 Profile: Steve Kemp

"Kemp played in all but two games in his lone year with the White Sox and wound up with the third-best average of his career. He hit 15 of his 19 homers in visitors' ballparks and Yankee Stadium's short porch in right will be a welcome target. Kemp never went more than three games without a hit.
Born in San Angelo, Texas, Kemp was an All-American at Southern Cal and the No. 1 pick in the country in the January 1976 draft. He became the regular left fielder for Detroit after one season in the minors and kept beating the Tigers in salary arbitration, so the club finally dealt him to Chicago for Chet Lemon prior to '82. Kemp became a free agent last winter and signed a five-year, $5.45 million pact to become the Yanks' lefty slugger."

-Ken Nigro, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1983 Edition

"Hustle, hard work and a hundred percent of it. That's what this 28-year-old outfielder, signed last winter by the Yankees as a free agent from the Chicago White Sox, brings to the Bronx.
He's also a proven RBI producer, a trait that should win him an immediate following at Yankee Stadium- as well as win the Yankees some important games.
Last season, the former USC performer batted .297 with 19 homers and 98 RBI for the White Sox, who play their home games in spacious Comiskey Park. Kemp figures to do equally well- especially in the home run department- with an inviting right field porch in the Stadium welcoming his shots.
Kemp, the first overall selection in the '76 free agent draft by the Detroit Tigers, spent only one season in the minors before joining the Bengals.
Kemp's impressive statistics pale when compared to his crowd-pleasing, aggressive style of play. He's a winner who never quits ... never."

-The New York Yankees Official 1983 Yearbook

"Kemp enjoyed an excellent season in 1982, establishing new personal season highs by playing in 160 games, scoring 91 runs and getting 166 hits. He tied for sixth in the AL with 89 walks, was ninth with a .384 on-base percentage and was tied for ninth with 14 game-winning RBI.
Steve is a proven RBI man, averaging 86.7 RBI a year and twice driving in more than 100 runs in a season. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 1979, winning Detroit's triple crown. Steve has 10 or more game-winning RBI in each of the last three seasons (since the GWRBI stat has been officially kept).
He was the nation's No. 1 pick in the regular phase of the January 1976 free agent draft by Detroit. In August of his one and only season in the minor leagues, Kemp tore ankle ligaments which were repaired surgically. He was a member of an American League team of all-stars that toured Japan in 1979.
Kemp was an All-American baseball player at the University of Southern California. He holds the USC record for season batting average with a .435 mark set in his sophomore year."

-1983 New York Yankees Information Guide